


Picnics and fireflies

by Jadzia_Bear



Category: Firefly, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 13:26:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8534914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadzia_Bear/pseuds/Jadzia_Bear
Summary: "Someone replaced our cook with a lovesick puppy," Wash murmured, nodding towards Darcy. "She's got it bad for someone, don't she?""Uh-huh," Kaylee agreed. "Can't figure who, though."A bubble of longing swelled in her chest. What she wouldn't give to be the one Darcy was lovesick for."Could be Zoe," Wash suggested helpfully. "Everyone's got it bad for Zoe."





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Reallife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reallife/gifts).



> Written for that lovely bagofgroceries over on tumblr, who prompted: Cook!Darcy on Serenity. She's been there for a bit, the crew knows her well enough to think they know what her Crush Face looks like. Theorizing abounds, they go through stages of speculation on all the boys and turns out? It's Kaylee. Pining +misunderstanding +happy ending 
> 
> Thank you for the beautiful prompt (and sorry it took so long!), hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> It wouldn't be Firefly without a little bit of Mandarin thrown in, so just a heads up that meimei means 'little sister' (a term of endearment for a younger female).

 

Kaylee bit into another ginger cookie, still warm from the oven. The air was heavy with their spiced aroma, and when the sweet, delicate flavours registered on her tongue, it was almost as good as a hug from the chef herself (Darcy gave the _best_ hugs). Kaylee sank back into the overstuffed, threadbare couch with a contented sigh.

Wash pulled a face at the cards in his hand, then tossed one onto the discard pile in the middle of the scratched up coffee table. Jayne crowed with glee as he snatched it up for himself, leaving Inara to scoop up the dice. Kaylee had invited Darcy to join their game, but the ship's cook had declined on account of the dinner that wasn't going to make itself.

Kaylee hadn't intentionally picked a seat that would allow her to watch Darcy as she worked, but somehow it had happened anyway.

Darcy stirred a huge pot on the stove, staring meditatively into its depths. Often, she would sing or even dance her way around the galley as she worked, hair wound up in a messy bun and held in place with haphazardly arranged chopsticks. Not today, though. Today she chewed absently on her full bottom lip, dark tresses hanging down around her face.

That wistful expression had been hanging around for a few days now. Kaylee had been flat out with repairs for the last  little while and hadn't had a chance to ask her friend what was up, but she thought she could hazard a guess.

Wash leaned to the side so he could follow Kaylee's line of sight.

"Someone replaced our cook with a lovesick puppy," he murmured, nodding towards Darcy. "She's got it bad for someone, don't she?"

"Uh-huh," Kaylee agreed. "Can't figure who, though." A bubble of longing swelled in her chest. What she wouldn't give to be the one Darcy was lovesick for.

"Could be Zoe," Wash suggested helpfully. "Everyone's got it bad for Zoe."

Kaylee shook her head. "Darcy only takes to menfolk, she told me so." The pang of longing grew stronger.

"Must be me, then," Wash said knowingly, smoothing a hand over his hair.

Inara's mouth quirked. "I hate to break it to you, but it's not you."

"She told you, 'Nara?" Kaylee asked, her fingers gripping her cards a fraction tighter.

"No, _"_ Inara said, with one of her enigmatic smiles. She must have figured it out herself. Companion training would be helpful for that sort of thing, no doubt.

"Maybe it's me," Jayne said, grinning around his cigar.

Kaylee and Inara both rolled their eyes.

"She's had you before and she could have you again in a second," Inara reminded him. "It's not you she's pining for, or Mal, or Sheppard Book."

"Then you're sayin' it's Simon," Kaylee said. She discarded a card, but only after a nudge from Wash's elbow reminded her that it was her turn.

"I'm not saying anything of the sort," Inara countered, eyes gleaming. But as if to prove the point, Simon appeared in the doorway at that very moment.

He crossed through the dining area, saying hello to Darcy as he went. He got a smile and a little wave in response, but the thing that settled the issue in Kaylee's mind was the way Darcy's expression turned a mite sad again once his back was turned.

Simon sat down on the couch beside Kaylee and took a ginger cookie from the plate.

"Want me to deal you in?" she asked.

He took a bite of the cookie and shook his head. Kaylee glanced back towards the galley to find Darcy already looking in their direction. The two girls shared a brief smile before returning to the tasks in front of them.

Kaylee tried to keep her mind on the game, but she was only half succeeding. She should really talk to Darcy, share her advice on wooing the Doc seeing as she herself had been there, done that and moved on. At the very least she could make sure Darcy knew what she was getting herself into, going after someone whose first priority was never going to be their relationship.

Kaylee's attention was pulled back to the card game by Inara pressing the dice into her hand. "Your roll, _meimei."_

* * *

Darcy didn't really have a name for the thing she'd concocted for dinner, but it was pretty tasty considering how few ingredients she'd had to work with, so she was happy with it. She plonked the pot down onto the pot board in the centre of the long table, then came back with a tower of bowls and a handful of spoons.

Kaylee came over to help her set the table, as she often did.

"Hey," she smiled, bumping her hip against Darcy's.

"Hey yourself," Darcy smiled back. She didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse, the way Kaylee was so free and easy with casual touches. On the one hand, it was the highlight of her day. On the other, that high was always followed by a crushing low. Being in love with someone who was already taken was the _worst_.

Darcy headed clockwise around the table, putting down a bowl in front of each chair. Kaylee followed her, setting a spoon down next to each one.

 "So I was thinkin'," Kaylee said, "how 'bout a picnic when we land on Persephone tomorrow?"

For a moment Darcy thought Kaylee meant a picnic for the two of them, and a vision flashed into her mind of her and Kaylee stretched out beside each other on a blanket, watching the clouds, but obviously Kaylee meant a picnic for her and Simon.

"Sure, I can pack a lunch basket," Darcy replied.

"Great!" Kaylee grinned.

So the next morning, maybe because she was an awesome ship's cook, or maybe just because she liked to torture herself, she put together the most delicious, romantic picnic basket she could manage. Along with a bottle of homemade sweet tea and the ginger cookies Kaylee liked, Darcy made hand pies with little heart-shaped windows cut out of the pastry. She even added a couple of pink linen napkins and found a red blanket to fold up and lay over the top once the basket was packed. Damn, she was a good friend.

When the time came for Kaylee to pick up her picnic lunch, Darcy pasted a cheerful smile on her face and pushed the basket across the counter to her.

"Here you go," she said, then went straight back to her washing up because, Budda help her, Kaylee was wearing _pink lip gloss_ , which was Darcy's gorram kryptonite.

"Shiny!" Kaylee grinned, taking a quick peek under the blanket. Then, instead of leaving, she came around to Darcy's side of the counter and picked up a dish towel. "I'll help you finish these so we can get out there faster. I hope there's some wildflowers we can pick."

"We?" Darcy's hands stilled in the sudsy water. "Why would you want me tagging along on your picnic with Simon?"

 _"Simon?"_ Kaylee repeated. She leaned one hip against the edge of the counter and looked at Darcy. "We ain't together no more, I thought you knew."

Darcy's world opened up like a flower, hope blooming in her chest. "You're not?"

It occurred to her that she should say something consoling or sympathetic, but Kaylee was already grinning at her.

"No wonder you've been mopin' about like you have, if you thought he was still taken. Come on," she gave Darcy the dish towel to dry her hands on, "we can finish these later. Let's get out of here so I can give you some tips on wooing the Doc."

"Wooing _Simon?_ " Now it was Darcy's turn to be confused.

"Ain't that who you've been moonin' over?" Kaylee asked. "Why else would you have gotten that look in your eyes just now when I told you he and I were done?"

Darcy's cheeks burned as she tried to come up with an explanation. When nothing came to mind she settled for cursing under her breath instead. All she could do was watch as Kaylee put the pieces together for herself.

"But..." Kaylee's eyes searched her face. "I thought you didn't like girls that way."

"Me too," Darcy said with a helpless shrug, "but for some reason you're different. I've been thinking maybe I'm just...Kaylee-sexual."

Darcy twisted the cloth in her hands, feeling dumb, but going by the smile spreading over Kaylee's face, her friend found the concept utterly delightful.

"Only one way to know for sure, though," Kaylee said with a quirk of her lips, easing herself into Darcy's personal space.

Darcy could hardly breathe, and it had nothing to do with the ship's oxygenation systems. Kaylee brushed a tendril of hair out of Darcy's face with careful fingers. Darcy abandoned the dish towel so she could slip her hands over Kaylee's hips. With their faces this close, Darcy couldn't miss the way Kaylee's eyelids fluttered when Darcy's fingers brushed over the bare skin between her cargo pants and her top.

Then, Kaylee pressed her soft, soft lips to Darcy's. It was like floating on a cloud or riding a unicorn, or some other beautiful, magical thing. When their lips parted and the tip of Kaylee's tongue touched hers, it set her whole body alight with sweet fire.

But before they could get carried away, Kaylee brought the kiss to an end. "So are we going on this picnic or what?" Kaylee grinned, taking Darcy's hand in one of her own.

Darcy grinned back. She grabbed the picnic basket with her other hand and let Kaylee lead her out the door towards fresh air and sunshine.

**Author's Note:**

> *insert veiled plea for comments here* ;)


End file.
